Method and mechanism for handling fastenings



J. FAUSSE.

METHOD AND MECHANISM FOR HANDLING FASTENINGS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5. 192].

Patented Oct. 17, 1922.

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JOSEPH FA'USSE, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A. CORPORATION on NEW JERSEY.

METHOD AND MECHANISM FOR HANDLING FASTENINGS.

Application filed January 5, 1921. Serial No. 435,175.

Handling Fastenings, of which the follow-' ing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, 1s a specification, like reference characters on the drawings 1nd1- eating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to the art of handling separate or loose metallic objects, such as fastenings, which involves the arrangement of the objects in a line or column from an unorderly mass and then the separation of single objects successively from the line or column for insertion into the work, for example, into a shoe.

An object of this invention is to provide a method and means of handling such objects which will obviate the tendency of the objects to adhere to each other, or to the mechanism by which they are manipulated or guided, while in the mass or during the process of arrangement and separatoin.

Various automatic mechanisms have been devised, and used commercially for many years, by which objects, such as tacks or nails, disposed in an unorderly mass formed,

7 for instance, by pouring the objects helter skelterinto a receptacle such as a pot, are arranged in orderly fashion in a line or column with their corresponding faces uppermost, where this is important,- for example, tacks with their heads up are advanced in the direction of the line or column by gravity-or otherwise; and are separated one at a time and presented in position to be inserted into the work. In theme of such mechanisms there has always been more or less trouble and annoyance because of the fact that the objects, for example tacks, failed to advance properly in the direction of the line or column, causing failure of the objects to be separated one by one at the separating point and at each operation of the separating mechanism.

It has been observed that the difiiculty is aggravated under certain climatic conditions, for instance near the seashore and at times whenthe nights are cold but the days warm so thatno artificial heat is required in the factory. I am however, the first to discover, so far as I am aware, that the direct cause of the trouble is due to the condensation of atmospheric moisture upon the objects, causing them to tend to adhere to each other or to the mechanism by which they are'being handled, or, in case there is a coating upon the objects, that the trouble is due to absorption of more or less moisture by the coating, causing the coating of one object to adhere more or less to a contacting object or mechanism.

he tacks or nails used extensively as fastenings in the manufacture of shoes and allied industries are usually tumbled in a barrel in the presence of powder graphite to give the tacks a graphite coating, the object being to make the tacks work more freely by preventing adhesion between the tacks and themechanismbywhich they are handled, for instance the contacting portions of the raceway down which they advance, usually by gravity, to the separating point. The coating also tends materially to prevent or retard oxidation of the tacks.

Various expedients have been devised for obviating the trouble caused by the tendency of the tacks to adhere, such, for example, as

jarring the raceway or directing a blast of air upon the tacks in the raceway. Such expedients, however, while more or less successful, are merely palliative in character since they do not remove the fundamental cause, that is, the moisture condensed on the tacks or absorbed by the coating.

That the adhesion in the case of coated tacks is due to moisture I have, I believe, demonstrated by the following experiment: A handful of coated tacks was taken from the tack pot of a machine which was not handling the tacks properly, and placed upon a sheet of white paper. Then the tacks were rubbed or jostled about on the paper whereupon the paper became blackened by the graphite. Another handful of tacks was taken from the pot and heated, with the object of dissipatingthe moisture if any. Then these tacks were placed upon another sheet of white paper and subjected to the same treatment as the first handful, whereupon it was found that the paper was hardly blackened at all. Deducing from this that moisture caused the coating to adhere to the paper, it was apparent that adhesion of the tacks to each other and to uncoated metal might be due to the same cause. Accordingly the tacks were all removed from the pot, dried by heating, replaced in the pot, and the machine started. As soon as the tacks already in the raceway, and of course unheated, were used up the machine ran with no tack trouble whatever until the tacks had completely cooled to'norinal temperature. I have also experimented with tacks that had become rusted by reason of deposition of atmospheric moisture and have found that rusty tacks, when treated by my method, were handled without difiiculty. It should here be emphasized that the presence of moisture on the tacks is not obvious but occult, that is, hidden from the eye or senses; hence the term occluded or insensible may properly be applied to such moisture which is shut up or hidden in the coating of rust or graphite, or rendered insensible by even and thin distribution on a bare metallic surface.

As exemplified herein, and in accordance with the present invention, small, loose, metallic objects, such as fasteningsdisposed in an unorderly mass, are first arranged in an orderly line or column and then separated one by one from the column,a moderate degree of artificial dry heat being utilized to dissipate the insensible 0r occluded moisture upon the tacks prior'to separation of the individual objects or fastenings. I prefer to introduce the heat treatment while the objects or fastenings are in the unorderly mass and have shown herein a heating element arranged in suitable relationto the receptacle, for example the tack pot, into which the objects are po'uredl Since usually, and as shown, the tack pot is rotated and is provided with vanes by which the tacks are lifted and dropped upon a spill pan arranged in suitable relation to a raceway in which those of the dropped tacks which are in properposition arrange themselves in orderly fashion, I have arranged a stationary heating element, "preferably electric, adjacent to the tack pot which receives radiation from the element during its rotation and hence the tacks are heated while they are being raised and let fall by the tack pot and while in the unorderly mass as well as while they are arranging themselves in orderly. fashion in the tack raceways. Thus all tendency of the tacks to stick while advancing in the column or at the point of separation is obviated.

Fig. 1 is a perspective viewof a tack han dling mechanism embodying the present invention and by which the method of the present invention may be practiced;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 1; 1

ulling-over machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 663,777 granted Dec. 11, 1900, upon application of Ronald F. McFeely. It is to be understood, however,-that the invention is of general application and is of special utility as applied to machines having tack driving mechanism, orthe like, whether the tacks are driven singly or several at a time.

As shown, a mass of tacks 2 (Fig.2) in unorderly arrangement, is contained in a tack pot 4:, having been poured in from the package through an opening 6 closed by a lid 8. By rotation of the tack pot some of the tacks from the mass 2 are lifted by vanes or buckets l0 and allowed to fall on a spill pan 12 suitably inclined and .arranged to cause tacks that are properly directed to arrange themselves in a line or column 14 in a raceway 16, other tacks falling back into the mass 2 again. At the lower end of, the race way tacks are separated one by one by a separator 18, the separated tacks being conducted to the driving point bya tube 20.

In accordance with my invention the tacks may be warmed or heated to dissipate the moisture on; them at any time prior to their separation. It is preferable, however, to heatthem while in the mass 2 which may be done by subjecting the mass of tacks to arti ficial dry heat in any convenient manner, for example, by applying heat to the exterior of the tack pot which will readily conduct the heat to the contained tacks.

' The degree of heat required is not great, being always less than that required to produce oxidation of the metal and preferably below boiling tem Jerature, 212 F. In fact, a temperature su cient to cause the fastenings to feel warm tothe touch, that is, approximately 100 F., is found to be effective for the purpose intended. Accordingly, since only a moderate degree of heat is required. I have found electrical heating means convenient, effective, and otherwise desirable for the purpose and such means is herein shown. A cast iron bracket 22 is secured to them-achine frame, the bracket being provided with a face 2a curved cylindricallyto correspond to the exterior of the rotary tack pot 4: and arranged as close as possible to the tack pot with only the necessary clearance space or air gap between them. Adjacent to the surface 24- a bore is made in the casting 22 and a suitableelectric heating element 26 is positioned therein. Leads 28, 30 from the heating element .are carried to a suitable switch conveniently located for the operator to control the supply of electrical energy to the element from any suitable source, for example, the lighting circuit with which factories are usually provided. The heat from the element 26 and bracket 22 is radiated to the pot 4 which conducts the heat to the contained mass of tacks 2 from which, in con sequence of the heating, the moisture is dissipated and in the subsequent steps of arranging the tacks in line and separating them one by one all tendency of the tacks to adhere to each other or to the raceway or other'parts is eliminated and the handling of the tacks rendered easy and certain.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. That improvement in methods of handling loose, metallic objects for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes which consists first in subjecting the objects to a moderate degree of artificial dry heat to overcome adhesion of the objects, arranging the objects in line for advance by gravity and then separating the individual objects.

2. That improvement in methods of handling loose, metallic fastenings for attaching together parts of boots and shoes which consists in subjecting the fastenings to a degree of heat below the oxidizing temperature of the metal prior to their separation to overcome adhesion of the fastenings, and then separating and delivering them.

3. That improvement in methods of handling loose fastenings which consists in subjecting the fastenings to artificial dry heat below the boiling temperature of water to overcome adhesion, arranging them in an inclined column for advance by gravity and then separating them individually.

4. That improvement in methods of handling loose, metallic objects for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes which consists in taking objects disposed in an unorderly mass, arranging them in an orderly line or column, then separating individual objects, and warming the objects prior to separation of the individual objects.

5. That improvement in. methods of handling loose, metallic fastenings which consists in taking fastenings disposed in an unorderly mass, causing individuals of the mass to arrange themselves in a line or column, causing the column to advance, separating individual fastenings from the column, and subjecting the fastenings prior to their separation to a heat sufficient to dissipate moisture but not sufficient to oxidize the metal.

6. That improvement in methods of handling loose fastenings for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes which consists in taking fastenings disposed in an unorderly mass, arranging them progressively in line and simultaneously subjecting them to artificial, dry heat sufficient only to to dissipate occluded moisture, and then separating them individually.

7. Mechanism for handling loose, metallic objects, having, in combination, means for holding the objects in an unorderly mass, means for heating the objects while in the mass to dissipate the moisture on the obj ects, a raceway, means for arranging them in an orderly line or column in the raceway, and means for separating individual objects.

8. In a mechanism for handling loose, metallic fastenings, the combination with a raceway, means for causing individuals of a mass of fastenings in disorder to arrange themselves in a line or column in the raceway, and means for separating the individ ual fastenings from the column, of means for heating the fastenings sufficiently to dry them only to overcome adhesion of the fastenings and facilitate their sepa'ation.

9. in a mechanism for handling loose tacks, the combination of an inclined raceway, means for arranging the tacks progressively in line in the raceway with their heads up, means for simultaneously subjecting them to artificial dry heat to facilitate their passage along the raceway by gravity, and means for separating them individually.

10. In a mechanism for handling loose metallic objects, the combination of a re ceptacle to contain the objects in an un orderly mass, an inclined raceway down which the objects descend by gravity,

'means for transferring the objects a few at a time from the mass to the raceway, means for heating the objects prior to their passage down the raceway to facilitate their descent, and means for separating individual objects from the raceway.

11. In a mechanism for handling loose metallic fastenings, the combination of a pot to contain the fastenings, a raceway downwardly inclined from the pot to receive the fastenings for descent by gravity, means for heating the fastenings to prevent sticking of the fastenings in the raceway and facilitate handling of the fastenings, means for transferring fastenings from the pot to the raceway, and means for separating the fastenings one by one from the raceway.

12. In a mechanism for handling loose metallic fastenings, the combination of a pot to contain the fastenings, a heating element arranged in proximity to the pot to communicate heat to the pot and fastenings, a raceway arranged to cause advance of the fastenings therein by gravity, means for transferring fastenings from the pot to the raceway, and means for separating the fastenings one by one from the raceway.

13. In a mechanism for handling loose Way to receive the fastenings, means for metallic fastenings, the combination of a transferring fastenings from the pot to the pot to contain the fastenings, a bracket haw raceway, and means for separating the fas- 10 ing a surface corresponding in curvature to tenings one by one from the raceway. that of the pot arranged with its surface in In tes imony whereof I have signed my close proximity to the curved surface of the n me to this specification. pot, means for heating the bracket, 21 race- JOSEPH FAUSSE. 

